London Irish stars Delon Armitage and Nick Kennedy will make their England debuts against the Pacific Islands at Twickenham on Saturday (ko 2.30pm, live on Sky).

Armitage, 25, received a late call-up to Martin Johnson’s squad as cover for Newcastle’s Mat Tait, but now finds himself thrown in to the starting line-up to face a side that includes club-mates Seilala Mapasua and Sailosi Tagicakibau.

Armitage said: “It’s brilliant because I started at London Irish the same time as Nick Kennedy.

“We’ve both worked really hard to get into this squad.

“Hopefully I can make the No. 15 shirt mine.”

Former Marlow player Kennedy, 27, gets his first full England cap, having already played in non-capped games .

Also making his debut on Saturday will be Riki Flutey, a former London Irish player now at Wasps.

London Irish head coach Toby Booth said: “None of us at the club are surprised at their selection.

“Delon is a fierce competitor who has been among the most consistent players at the club for three seasons.

“Nick is one of the finest lineout specialists in the country. He is an integral member of the most consistent second row combination in the Guinness Premiership and is also a powerful scrummager who is hard to stop with ball in hand.”